Dynamic Virtual Boundary Methods and Systems

ABSTRACT

An exemplary virtual boundary system accesses a positioning signal generated by a positioning system. A geolocation for a real-time tracking device is derivable from the positioning signal within a first margin of error. The virtual boundary system also accesses a correction signal generated by a positioning enhancement system and corresponding to the positioning signal generated by the positioning system. Based on the positioning signal and the correction signal, the virtual boundary system determines a refined geolocation of the real-time tracking device relative to a user-specified geographic boundary. The refined geolocation is accurate within a second margin of error that is less than the first margin of error. Corresponding methods and systems are also disclosed.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/041,437, filed Jul. 20, 2018, and entitled“Dynamic Virtual Boundary Methods and Systems,” which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

In various situations, people who have authority or control over asubject (e.g., an animal, a machine, another person, etc.) implementphysical boundaries and markers to confine the subject to a particulargeographical area. For example, animal fences (e.g., electric dog fencesthat have electric wires either above or below ground, fences forkeeping livestock grazing within a particular area, etc.) may be used toconfine animals to the property of the animal's owner, boundary markersmay be used to facilitate movement of automated machines (e.g., roboticlawnmowers, farming equipment, etc.) operating within an area such as ayard or field, and physical fences and signs may be used to urge humanbeings to stay in a particular area (e.g., children within a schoolyard,parolees on house arrest within their premises, runners or bikers to adesignated race route, etc.). While such physical boundaries and markersmay be effective in confining subjects to particular geographic areas,these physical constructs may be unsightly, expensive, inconvenient,and/or difficult to move or modify.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings illustrate various embodiments and are a partof the specification. The illustrated embodiments are merely examplesand do not limit the scope of the disclosure. Throughout the drawings,identical or similar reference numbers designate identical or similarelements.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary dynamic virtual boundary system forconstraining a subject within an area defined by a user-specifiedgeographic boundary according to principles described herein.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary subject constrained within an exemplaryarea defined by a user-specified geographic boundary according toprinciples described herein.

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate exemplary configurations in which the dynamicvirtual boundary system of FIG. 1 may operate to constrain a subjectwithin an area defined by a user-specified geographic boundary accordingto principles described herein.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary access device presenting a userinterface that facilitates receiving user input defining auser-specified geographic boundary according to principles describedherein.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary geographical area within which auser-specified geographic boundary is defined according to principlesdescribed herein.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary user-specified geographic boundaryconfigured to automatically and gradually change at prescheduled timesand in accordance with prespecified settings set by the user accordingto principles described herein.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary real-time tracking device at severallocations with respect to a user-specified geographic boundary as thereal-time tracking device approaches and crosses the user-specifiedgeographic boundary according to principles described herein.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary alert configured to assist inconstraining a subject within an area defined by a user-specifiedgeographic boundary according to principles described herein.

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary method for constraining a subjectwithin an area defined by a user-specified geographic boundary accordingto principles described herein.

FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary computing device according toprinciples described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Dynamic virtual boundary methods and systems that may be used toconstrain a subject within an area defined by a user-specifiedgeographic boundary are described herein. For example, as will bedescribed in more detail below, an exemplary dynamic virtual boundarysystem may access a positioning signal from which a geolocation accuratewithin a first margin of error is derivable for a real-time trackingdevice carried by a subject. The positioning signal may be generated,for instance, by a satellite included within a satellite-basedpositioning system (e.g., the Global Positioning System (“GPS”)), andmay be received by the real-time tracking device. The dynamic virtualboundary system may also access a correction signal corresponding to thepositioning signal generated by the satellite. For instance, thecorrection signal may be generated by a terrestrial positioningenhancement system (e.g., a real-time kinematic (“RTK”) positioningsystem) and may be received by the real-time tracking device.Additionally, the dynamic virtual boundary system may access dynamicvirtual boundary data that defines a user-specified geographic boundary.In some examples, the user-specified geographic boundary may beconfigured to change in real time (e.g., to shrink in size, to expand insize, to move from one geographic location to another, etc.).

Based on the positioning signal and the correction signal, the dynamicvirtual boundary system may continuously determine a refined geolocationof the real-time tracking device. Compared to the geolocation that isderivable from the positioning signal alone, the refined geolocation maybe considerably more accurate. For example, the refined geolocation maybe accurate within a second margin of error less than the first marginof error (e.g., giving the refined geolocation centimeter-level accuracyin some examples, rather than the meter-level accuracy of thegeolocation derivable based on the positioning signal alone).

The dynamic virtual boundary system may continuously monitor whether therefined geolocation of the real-time tracking device is within apredetermined distance of the user-specified geographic boundary. Forexample, this continuous monitoring may be performed as theuser-specified geographic boundary is changing in real time (e.g., asthe user-specified geographic boundary is shrinking, expanding, moving,etc.) and/or as the real-time tracking device is being carried by thesubject to different geolocations. Based on a determination (e.g.,during the continuous monitoring) that the refined geolocation is withinthe predetermined distance of the user-specified geographic boundary,the dynamic virtual boundary system may provide an alert configured toassist in constraining the subject within an area defined by theuser-specified geographic boundary. For example, an alert may beprovided to the subject, to a person who has authority over the subject(e.g., to a user who specified the user-specified geographic boundary),or to both.

In certain examples, the dynamic virtual boundary system described abovemay be used in the context of virtual fences for constraining pets. Forexample, the real-time tracking device carried by the subject may beimplemented by a collar worn by a pet such as a dog, a cat, or the like.In these examples, a person responsible for the pet (e.g., the petowner, etc.) may be referred to as a “user” of the dynamic virtualboundary system, and this user may be responsible for originallyspecifying (as well as dynamically changing, if desired) theuser-specified geographic boundary. For example, the user may provideuser input by way of a user interface presented by an access device(e.g., a user interface provided by an application executed by a mobilecomputing device) from which the dynamic virtual boundary data definingthe user-specified geographic boundary may be generated. When the petwearing the collar approaches or crosses the user-specified geographicboundary, alerts may be provided to the pet (e.g., by a vibration, asound, a shock, etc., applied by the collar) and/or to the user (e.g.,by way of a notification on the access device).

Various examples and additional detail will be provided below relatingto dynamic virtual boundary systems implemented in the context ofvirtual pet fences. However, it will be understood that the principlesdescribed herein in the virtual pet fence context may also be applied tovarious other types of subjects in other contexts. For example, dynamicvirtual boundary methods and systems such as those described herein mayhelp constrain subjects such as non-pet animals (e.g., farm animals,etc.), machines (e.g., automated yard care or farming equipment, etc.),people (e.g., children, parolees, etc.), and other suitable subjectswithin any user-specified geographic boundary as may serve a particularimplementation. In these examples, rather than a collar worn by thesubject, the real-time tracking device may be implemented in othersuitable ways such as by a wrist or ankle bracelet worn by a person, bya mobile device carried by a person, by circuitry integrated within amachine (e.g., an IoT device integrated into a robotic lawnmower, etc.),or the like.

Dynamic virtual boundary systems described herein may be implemented bya real-time tracking device (e.g., a pet collar device), a controllersystem (e.g., a web server operated by a service provider, an accessdevice such as a smartphone or personal computer used by a user), or anyother systems or devices as may serve a particular implementation.Additionally, in certain examples, a dynamic virtual boundary system maybe implemented by a combination of these systems and devices, such as byhaving its functionality performed by both a real-time tracking deviceand a controller system. Any of the operations described above (and/orother suitable operations) may be performed by the dynamic virtualboundary system in any manner as may serve the configuration of aparticular system implementation (i.e., the configuration of theparticular systems and/or devices implementing the dynamic virtualboundary system). Examples of different such configurations forimplementing exemplary dynamic virtual boundary systems will bedescribed in more detail below.

The dynamic virtual boundary methods and systems described herein forconstraining a subject within an area defined by a user-specifiedgeographic boundary may provide many benefits and advantages as comparedto conventional physical boundaries. For example, the dynamic virtualboundary systems described herein are more effective, customizable,flexible, and convenient than conventional physical boundaries. Forexample, rather than having to dig trenches, bury cables, install powersupplies and/or other hardware, and so forth to implement a conventionalunderground pet fence, users may, in accordance with the systems andmethods described herein, instantly and conveniently set up virtualboundaries (i.e., user-specified geographic boundaries) by simplydrawing the boundaries on a map presented on a user interface on anaccess device. Moreover, just as easily as boundaries may be specifiedin the first instance, the boundaries may also be dynamically changed.For example, a user may set up a large area for a dog to play at apublic park to keep the dog away from danger (e.g., out of the street,etc.) and away from a playground. Then, if a group of children beginsplaying a game within the large area, the user may easily move theboundaries of the user-specified geographic boundary to prevent the dogfrom going near the children. If the children later leave, the user maythen easily move the user-specified geographic boundary back to theoriginal position.

Moreover, as a result of the dynamic nature and customizability of thedynamic virtual boundary methods and systems described herein,additional advantages and features may be provided that are not possiblewith conventional physical boundary systems. For example, dynamicuser-specified geographic boundaries may be set to change automatically,gradually, and/or in accordance with prespecified schedules. In thisway, desired animal behavior may be encouraged and taught usingdynamically changing fences to, for example, herd one or more animalsfrom one area to another at a certain time of day (e.g., to let animalsout into the yard during the day and automatically bring them in atnight, etc.). As another example, user-specified geographic boundariesmay be defined not only along a two-dimensional (“2D”) surface of theearth, but may further be defined in three-dimensional (“3D”) space. Assuch, for instance, a user-specified geographic boundary may beconfigured to allow a pet near the base of a tree, while disallowing thepet from climbing up into the tree, or the like. These and otherexemplary features will be described in more detail below.

Various embodiments will now be described in more detail with referenceto the figures. The disclosed systems and methods may provide one ormore of the benefits mentioned above and/or various additional and/oralternative benefits that will be made apparent herein.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary dynamic virtual boundary system 100(“system 100”) for constraining a subject within an area defined by auser-specified geographic boundary. As shown, system 100 may include,without limitation, a real-time tracking facility 102, a boundarydetection facility 104, an alert facility 106, and a storage facility108 selectively and communicatively coupled to one another. It will berecognized that although facilities 102 through 108 are shown to beseparate facilities in FIG. 1, facilities 102 through 108 may becombined into fewer facilities, such as into a single facility, ordivided into more facilities as may serve a particular implementation.In some examples, facilities 102 through 108 may be distributed betweenmultiple devices and/or multiple locations as may serve a particularimplementation. Additionally, one or more of facilities 102 through 108may be omitted from system 100 in certain implementations, whileadditional facilities may be included within system 100 in the same orother implementations.

In certain implementations, facilities 102 through 108 may be configuredto operate in real time so as to constrain a subject within an areadefined by a user-specified geographic boundary even as the boundary andthe area it defines is changing (e.g., based on new user input,automatically according to prescheduling set up by the user, etc.). Inthis way, a user of an access device may provide user input to alterdynamic virtual boundary data defining the user-specified geographicboundary at any time and the subject will be constrained accordingly.For instance, if the subject is a dog and the user is the dog's owner,the owner could move or redraw a boundary defining one part of an areawithin which the dog is constrained and, as soon as the changes aresaved or otherwise implemented, the dog may be constrained to the areadefined by the moved or redrawn boundary. As used herein, operations maybe performed in “real time” when they are performed immediately andwithout undue delay, even if certain operations are not performedinstantaneously and are associated with some amount of delay such as afew seconds.

Each of facilities 102 through 108 may include or be implemented by oneor more physical computing devices such as hardware and/or softwarecomponents (e.g., processors, memories, communication interfaces,instructions stored in memory for execution by the processors, etc.).Additionally, in some examples, other types of hardware such ascommunication transceivers (e.g., for receiving positioning and/orcorrection signals), circuitry for applying vibrations, sounds, shocks,or other alerts to a subject, and so forth, may be further includedwithin facilities of system 100. Facilities 102 through 108 may beimplemented using separate computing components unique to each facility,or may be implemented using shared computing components. Each offacilities 102 through 108 will now be described in more detail.

Real-time tracking facility 102 may be configured to perform variousoperations associated with accessing information indicative of where areal-time tracking device (e.g., a pet collar or the like) that iscarried by a subject is located, and using that information to determinethe location of the subject with a high degree of accuracy and precision(e.g., within a few centimeters or less). Specifically, for example,real-time tracking facility 102 may be configured to access apositioning signal generated by a satellite included within asatellite-based positioning system (e.g., GPS, etc.) and received by thereal-time tracking device. A geolocation accurate within a first marginof error (e.g., within a few meters) may be derivable for the real-timetracking device based only on the positioning signal. However, it may bedesirable to determine the geolocation of the real-time tracking devicewith an even smaller margin of error (e.g., less than one meter, lessthan ten centimeters, etc.). Accordingly, real-time tracking facility102 may be further configured to access a correction signalcorresponding to the positioning signal generated by the satellite(e.g., configured to correct inaccuracies in the positioning signal).The correction signal may be generated by a terrestrial positioningenhancement system (e.g., an RTK base station in a network of RTK basestations) and may be received by the real-time tracking device alongwith the positioning signal. Based on the positioning signal and thecorrection signal, real-time tracking facility 102 may determine arefined geolocation of the real-time tracking device. For instance, therefined geolocation may be accurate within a second margin of error thatis less than the first margin of error (e.g., a margin of error lessthan one meter, less than ten centimeters, etc.).

Boundary detection facility 104 may be configured to perform variousoperations associated with determining whether a current refinedgeolocation of the real-time tracking device determined by real-timetracking facility 102 is within range of a current user-specifiedgeographic boundary that defines an area within which the real-timetracking device is to be constrained. More specifically, boundarydetection facility 104 may access (e.g., retrieve from storage, receivefrom another source such as an access device, generate based on userinput, etc.) dynamic virtual boundary data that defines theuser-specified geographic boundary. As will be described in more detailbelow, the user-specified geographic boundary defined by the dynamicvirtual boundary data may, in some examples, by configured to change inreal time. For instance, the user-specified geographic boundary maychange gradually and automatically at a prescheduled time set by a user,or may change under manual direction of the user. Based on the dynamicvirtual boundary data (and, in some examples, as the user-specifiedgeographic boundary and/or the geolocation of the real-time trackingdevice are changing), boundary detection facility 104 may continuouslymonitor whether the refined geolocation of the real-time tracking deviceis within a predetermined distance of the user-specified geographicboundary. For example, if the real-time tracking device enters aprespecified “buffer zone” associated with the user-specified geographicboundary (e.g., a zone at the outer edge of the area defined by theuser-specified geographic boundary and having a width of thepredetermined distance), boundary detection facility 104 may determinethat the real-time tracking device is getting close enough to theboundary that an alert (e.g., a mild warning alert) is in order. Asanother example, boundary detection facility 104 may determine that thereal-time tracking device is right at the boundary (e.g., if no bufferzone is defined because the predetermined distance is zero, if thebuffer zone has already been traversed, etc.), or has already crossedover the boundary and is outside of the area defined by theuser-specified geographic boundary.

Alert facility 106 may be configured to perform various operationsassociated with alerting the subject and/or a user of system 100 (e.g.,a user who has authority of the subject and is using system 100 to helpconstrain the subject) as to the status of the subject's location withrespect to the user-specified geographic boundary. Specifically, forexample, alert facility 106 may provide one or more alerts to thesubject and/or to the user based on (and in response to) a determinationby boundary detection facility 104 during the continuous monitoring thatthe refined geolocation is within the predetermined distance of theuser-specified geographic boundary.

The alert may be configured to assist in constraining the subject withinthe area defined by the user-specified geographic boundary in any manneras may serve a particular implementation. For instance, if the alert isprovided to the subject, the alert may assist in constraining thesubject by informing the subject that the subject is too close to theboundary and should retreat back in an opposite direction. If thesubject is a dog wearing a real-time tracking device built into acollar, for example, the alert sent to the dog may include a mild shock,a haptic vibration, a beeping sound, and/or any other suitable alertthat may operate to capture the dog's attention and encourage the dog tomove back into the area defined by the user-specified geographicboundary.

As another example, if the alert is provided to the user, the alert mayassist in constraining the subject by informing the user that thesubject has moved near the user-specified geographic boundary (or hasmoved to or past the boundary, etc., as the case may be) so that theuser may be made aware and may take action to help constrain the subjectif necessary or desired. For instance, if the subject is a dog and theuser is the dog's owner, the owner may receive a notification on hersmartphone that indicates that the dog is near the boundary and has beenfor several seconds. Based on the notification and the time of day, theuser may realize that a postal worker is delivering the mail and mayadjust the boundary to attempt to move the dog further away from themailbox, direct the collar to administer a shock to correct barkingbehavior, physically intervene to help keep the dog under control andwithin the desired area, or perform any other action as may best servethe situation.

Storage facility 108 may store and maintain any data used by facilities102 through 106 (and/or any other facilities included within system 100not explicitly shown) to perform any of the operations described herein.For example, storage facility 108 may include program instructions forperforming the operations described herein, as well as other datareceived, generated, managed, maintained, used, and/or transmitted byfacilities 102 through 106 as may serve a particular implementation. Insome examples, for instance, storage facility 108 may include datarepresentative of positioning signals generated by satellites, datarepresentative of correction signals generated by terrestrialpositioning enhancement systems, data representative of geolocations ofreal-time tracking devices (e.g., including refined geolocations),dynamic virtual boundary data defining user-specified geographicboundaries, data used for providing alerts to users and/or subjectsassociated with system 100, and so forth.

As mentioned above, in different implementation configurations, system100 may be implemented by one or more physical computing devicesintegrated within the real-time tracking device, a controller systemcommunicatively coupled to the real-time tracking device (e.g., aservice provider system or an access device used by a user), or anyother suitable systems or devices. In some examples, system 100 may beoperably distributed across two or more of such systems and devices(e.g., such that certain facilities and/or portions of facilities102-108 are implemented by one system or device while other facilitiesand/or portions of facilities 102-108 are implemented by another systemor device). Consequently, as used herein, operations involving actionssuch as “accessing,” “determining,” “monitoring,” “providing,” and soforth may be performed in different ways depending on systems or deviceswithin which system 100 and its facilities are implemented.

For example, if real-time tracking facility 102 (or a portion thereof)is implemented within the real-time tracking device itself, thepositioning signal and the correction signal may be “accessed” by thereal-time tracking device receiving the signals directly from theirrespective sources (i.e., from the satellite included within thesatellite-based positioning system and the terrestrial positioningenhancement system, respectively). The refined geolocation may then be“continuously determined” either by computing the refined geolocationusing processing resources included within the real-time tracking deviceor by providing data representative of the signals to another computingdevice configured to compute the refined geolocation (e.g., thecontroller system, the access device, etc.) and receiving the refinedgeolocation therefrom after it has been computed. Conversely, because itis the real-time tracking device that receives these signals, ifreal-time tracking facility 102 (or a portion thereof) is implementedwithin the controller system (e.g., a web server or an access device)communicatively coupled to the real-time tracking device, thepositioning and correction signals may be “accessed” by the controllersystem requesting and receiving the signals from the real-time trackingdevice (e.g., by way of a network such as a cellular provider network orthe like) and the refined geolocation may then be “continuouslydetermined” by computing the refined geolocation using processingresources of the controller system. In other examples, the accessing ofthe signals and the continuous determining of the refined geolocationmay be performed by receiving the refined geolocation as it has beencomputed by the real-time tracking device using resources of thereal-time tracking device.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary subject constrained within an exemplaryarea defined by a user-specified geographic boundary. As used herein, a“subject” may refer to any type of living thing or inanimate object overwhich a person (e.g., a user of system 100) has authority, control,influence, or the like. As such, the person may use system 100 toconstrain the subject within an area defined by a user-specifiedgeographic boundary using a real-time tracking device in any of the waysdescribed herein. To illustrate, FIG. 2 shows a real-time trackingdevice 202 (“device 202”) being worn on a collar by a subject 204 that,in the example of FIG. 2, is shown to be a dog. While device 202 worn bysubject 204 provides one example of a real-time tracking deviceimplemented by a pet collar configured to be worn by an animal, it willbe understood that other types of subjects (e.g., other pets, otheranimals that are not pets, machines, people, etc.) may similarly betracked by real-time tracking devices similar to device 202. Forinstance, in addition to being implemented as a collar worn around theneck of an animal, device 202 could be also implemented, in otherexamples, as an ankle bracelet worn by a person, as a small toy carriedin a pocket by a child, as circuitry built into a machine, or in variousother ways and form factors as may server various implementations invarious contexts.

As mentioned above, system 100 may determine a refined geolocation ofdevice 202 to a margin of error that may be relatively small (e.g.,smaller than may be possible using conventional tracking technologiessuch as GPS technology alone). For example, a user may wish to constrainsubject 204 within an area 206 defined by a user-specified geographicboundary 208. To this end, while subject 204 may have freedom to move inany direction within area 206 (as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 2),system 100 may help constrain subject 204 within area 206 by alertingsubject 204 in any of the ways described herein when subject 204 comestoo close to (or crosses over) user-specified geographic boundary 208.As such, it may be desirable for the geolocation of device 202 to beknown with a very small margin of error such as less than 1 meter, lessthan 50 centimeters, less than 10 centimeters, less than 5 centimeters,or less than 1 centimeter is certain implementations.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary configuration 300 in which system 100may operate or be implemented to constrain subject 204 within area 206defined by user-specified geographic boundary 208. Specifically, asshown, configuration 300 includes a satellite-based positioning system302 and a terrestrial positioning enhancement system 304 eachcommunicatively coupled with device 202. Additionally, FIG. 3illustrates that, by way of a network 306, a controller system 308 maylikewise be communicatively coupled to device 202 in configuration 300.As mentioned above, system 100 may be implemented by device 202, bycontroller system 308, by a combination thereof, or in other ways as mayserve a particular implementation. Each of the components ofconfiguration 300 will now be described.

Satellite-based positioning system 302 may provide one or more signalsreferred to as a positioning signal 310 to device 202. For example,positioning signal 310 may include one or more GPS or other such signalsfrom which a geolocation of device 202 may be derived. Satellite-basedpositioning system 302 may be implemented by any suitable positioningsystem that includes a network of satellites in orbit (e.g.,geosynchronous orbit) around the earth and configured to send signalsthat, when analyzed by devices on the earth's surface such as device202, may be used to derive a geolocation of the device. For example,each satellite may send out a signal having a signal that differsslightly from signals sent by other satellites in the network ofsatellites depending on where the signal is received on the earth'ssurface (i.e., depending on a geolocation at which the signal isreceived). By comparing signals from different satellites in the networkof satellites, a device may thus determine its own geolocation. Anysuitable satellite system configured to provide such signals mayimplement satellite-based positioning system 302. For example,satellite-based positioning system 302 may be implemented by the GPSoperated by the United States government or by similar systems owned andoperated by other countries and entities around the world (e.g.,Russia's Global Navigation Satellite System (“GLONASS”), China's BeiDouNavigation Satellite System, the European Union's Galileo system, etc.).

Because signals transmitted by satellite-based positioning system 302must travel through the atmosphere, where they are prone to interference(e.g., magnetic interference, etc.), it may not be possible to determinean extremely precise geolocation (e.g., with a margin of error of merecentimeters) based on such signals alone. For example, the margin oferror of certain satellite-based positioning systems currently availablemay be several meters or more. While such a margin of error may beacceptable for certain purposes for which satellite-based positioningsystems are used, such a margin of error may be too high for variousdynamic virtual boundary system implementations described herein. Forexample, if a user defines a user-specified geographic boundary tosnugly fit her own yard so as to keep a pet out of the street and out ofneighbors' yards, even a few meters of error may be too large an errorfor the system to viably provide safety and convenience for the dog, theneighbors, passersby, and so forth. Rather, it may be desirable to trackthe dog with an accuracy having a margin of error much less than severalmeters (e.g., less than one meter, less than ten centimeters, etc.) toensure the safety and convenience of everyone and everything involved.

Consequently, instead of relying on signals from satellite-basedpositioning system 302 alone, system 100 may further employ a correctionsignal 312 generated by terrestrial positioning enhancement system 304.For example, correction signal 312 may be an RTK signal generated at anRTK base station that implements terrestrial positioning enhancementsystem 304. Correction signal 312 may correspond to positioning signal310 by, for example, providing information that may be used to correctpositioning signal 310. For example, correction signal 312 may mitigateinterference or distortion introduced to positioning signal 310 in theatmosphere as positioning signal 310 travels from the satellite to bereceived by device 202.

Terrestrial positioning enhancement system 304 may be a physical basestation located at a known, surveyed location on the ground, or may be avirtual (i.e., interpolated) base station at a specific location atwhich a physical base station is not actually located, but which isinterpolated based on physical base stations. For example, terrestrialpositioning enhancement system 304 may include a network of low-latency,high-speed, physical and/or virtual base stations configured to providepositioning enhancement coverage for large geographical areas (e.g.,analogous to the communication coverage provided by a cellular networkor the like). Because ground truth is known for the location of eachphysical or virtual base station, and because the base station alsoreceives positioning signal 310 with whatever interference or distortionmay have been introduced onto it, terrestrial positioning enhancementsystem 304 may generate correction signal 312 to allow a devicereceiving both signals 310 and 312 (e.g., device 202) to determine avery accurate geolocation of the device. For example, as mentionedabove, device 202 may determine a refined geolocation having a margin oferror of only a few centimeters or less.

While RTK technology has been mentioned as a preferred technology uponwhich terrestrial positioning enhancement system 304 may be based, otherpositioning enhancement technologies may be employed in certainimplementations to similar effect. For example, instead of or inaddition to RTK technology, terrestrial positioning enhancement system304 may employ technologies such as Differential GPS (“DGPS”), variousimplementations of satellite-based augmentation system (“SBAS”) such asEuropean Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (“EGNOS”), GPS-aidedGEO augmented navigation (“GAGAN”), Positioning over LTE (“PoLTE”), orother suitable positioning enhancement technologies as may serve aparticular implementation.

Network 306 may facilitate data delivery between client-side systemssuch as device 202 (e.g., as well as other real-time tracking devices incertain examples) and server-side systems such as controller system 308in the server-client data delivery architecture illustrated byconfiguration 300. As such, network 306 may include a wireless localarea network (e.g., a Wi-Fi network), a provider-specific wired orwireless network (e.g., a cable or satellite carrier network, a mobiletelephone network, etc.), the Internet, a wide area network, a contentdelivery network, and/or any other suitable network or networks, anddata may be distributed using any suitable communication technologiesincluded within network 306. As such, data may flow between device 202and controller system 308 using any communication technologies, devices,media, and protocols as may serve a particular implementation.

Controller system 308 may be configured to communicate with device 200over network 306 to facilitate the operations of system 100 (i.e.,whether by implementing system 100 or enabling an implementation ofsystem 100 on device 202) in various ways. For example, as will bedescribed in more detail below, controller system 308 may provideinterfacing with a user of system 100 who may wish to constrain subject204 carrying device 202, and may offload certain processing tasks fromdevice 202 in order to streamline operations and allow device 202 to berelatively small and lightweight.

Controller system 308 may be implemented in different ways or bydifferent types of systems or devices in different contexts. Forinstance, in one implementation, controller system 308 may beimplemented by an access device used by a user (e.g., a general-purposecomputing device running a special-purpose software application, etc.),and network 306 may be implemented by a local area network such as ahome Wi-Fi network. In such an example, the user-specified geographicboundary set up by the user may be limited to a geography covered by thelocal area network, thus making such an implementation more limited thanimplementations employing a network 306 with broader reach.

In other implementations, controller system 308 may be implemented byone or more servers or other computing systems operated by a serviceprovider such as a cellular network service provider or the like, or bya combination of such servers and an access device such as describedabove. In these examples, network 306 may include a larger wirelessnetwork than the local area network described above. For instance,network 306 may include a cellular network (e.g., a 3G, 4G, or 5G datanetwork) with national or global coverage. In these types ofimplementations, the user-specified geographic boundary set up by theuser may not be limited to any small geography (e.g., such as thatcovered by a home Wi-Fi network), but, rather, may be imposed at anygeographic location covered by both the cellular network and thecoverage of systems 302 and 304.

To illustrate such an implementation, FIG. 4 shows an exemplaryconfiguration 400 similar to configuration 300 in which system 100 mayoperate to constrain subject 204 within area 206. However, whileconfiguration 300 showed only an abstraction of a general controllersystem 308, configuration 400 shows a more detailed implementation ofcontroller system 308 configured to provide a service linking a user anda pet (i.e., subject 204). Specifically, as illustrated in configuration400, device 202 is shown to be implemented on a collar being worn by adog playing the role of subject 204. Systems 302 and 304 respectivelygenerate and provide positioning signal 310 and correction signal 312,as described above in relation to configuration 300, and device 202communicates over network 306 with controller system 308 in a similarmanner as has been described. In FIG. 4, however, controller system 308is broken out to illustrate additional detail of a particularimplementation in which a dynamic virtual boundary service is providedby a service provider (e.g., a cellular carrier or the like).

As shown, controller system 308 includes a web server 402, as well as adata stream server 404. Moreover, controller system 308 is shown to bein communication with an access device 406 being used by a user 408(e.g., a person responsible for subject 204). It will be understood thatthe implementation details illustrated in configuration 400 areexemplary only and that, in other implementations, web server 402 anddata stream server 404 may be implemented by a single server, orfunctionally broken out over additional servers not explicitly describedfor this example.

Web server 402 may perform various operations associated withcollecting, maintaining, storing, and providing static informationemployed by (e.g., used by or accessed by) system 100. As such, webserver 402 may be implemented by a 4G LTE server, a 5G mobile edgecomputing server running a loosely coupled microservice, or by any othersuitable server as may serve a particular implementation. Web server 402may register device 202 when device 202 first communicates withcontroller system 308, and may receive and maintain dynamic virtualboundary data defining a user-specified geographic boundary when suchdata is sent by access device 406 (e.g., after being specified by user408). Web server 402 may further communicate with device 202 tofacilitate the determination of the refined geolocation in any of theways described herein, to provide alerts to device 202 (e.g., to directdevice 202 to provide a shock or other indication to subject 204 when itis determined that subject 204 is within the predetermined distance ofthe user-specified geographic boundary), and so forth.

Data stream server 404 may perform various operations associated withusing dynamic information to determine when device 202 is within thepredetermined distance of the user-specified geographic boundary. Forexample, data stream server 404 may receive a continuous, real-time datastream from device 202 representative of the current geolocation (or, incertain examples, representative of signals 310 and 312 from which datastream server 404 may derive the current geolocation), and may maintaina history of where subject 204 has been located over a certain period oftime. Data stream server 404 may further receive dynamic virtualboundary data from web server 402 and compare the dynamic virtualboundary data with the real-time data stream representative of thecurrent geolocation to determine when subject 204 has come within thepredetermined distance of the user-specified geographic boundary.

Access device 406 may be implemented by any computing device used by auser to access device 202 and/or to control a service provided bycontroller system 308 as may serve a particular implementation. Forexample, access device 406 may be implemented by a mobile device (e.g.,a smartphone, a tablet device, a digital reader device, etc.), apersonal computer (e.g., a laptop computer, a desktop computer, etc.), aspecial purpose device specifically designed for the purpose ofimplementing and/or controlling system 100, or any other suitabledevice. In order to perform the operations described herein, accessdevice 406 may execute special-purpose software, such as a dynamicvirtual boundary service application loaded onto access device 406.

Whether implemented within device 202, controller system 308, accessdevice 406, or distributed across a combination thereof, system 100 maybe configured to provide a user interface to access device 406 forpresentation by access device 406 to user 408. For example, system 100may provide the user interface by executing an application stored onaccess device 406, directing access device 406 to execute such anapplication, or facilitating the execution of such an application byaccess device 406 in any suitable manner (e.g., providing data used bythe application in the presentation of the user interface, etc.). By wayof this user interface, system 100 may receive user input from user 408.For example, the user input received by system 100 may define auser-specified geographic boundary. Accordingly, system 100 maydynamically generate dynamic virtual boundary data based on the userinput. For example, system 100 may generate the dynamic virtual boundarydata in real time as the user input is being received from user 408.

FIG. 5 illustrates access device 406 as it is presenting an exemplaryuser interface 500 that facilitates receiving user input defining auser-specified geographic boundary. Specifically, as shown, userinterface may include a plurality of panes 502 (e.g., panes 502-1 and502-2). In pane 502-1, user interface 500 displays a map upon which user408 may define the user-specified geographic boundary. For example,using pane 502-1, user interface 500 may allow user 408 to search themap for a particular location, jump to a current location, zoom andscroll the map, and perform other such operations using touch gesturesor other such user input as may serve a particular implementation. Inpane 502-2, user interface 500 may present a control panel havingvarious tools and options to facilitate user 408 in defining theuser-specified geographic boundary. The control panel may be laid out inany suitable way, such as with different tabs to help organize differenttypes of tools and options. To illustrate, pane 502-2 shows a “DrawingTools” tab 504 and an “Other Options” tab 506.

Various tools 508 (e.g., a permanent tool, a temporary tool, a scheduletool, a height tool, etc.) are included on tab 504, allowing user 408 toselect these tools and use them to define (e.g., draw) different typesof user-specified geographic boundaries 510 on the map presented in pane502-1. Set up options accessed by way of links on tab 504 or otheroptions accessible by way of tab 506 may further facilitate user 408 indefining user-specified geographic boundaries 510. Once user-specifiedgeographic boundary 510 is defined in this way, user interface 500 mayallow user-specified geographic boundary 510 to be saved. Access device406 may thus generate and store dynamic virtual boundary datarepresentative of user-specified geographic boundary 510 as it has beendefined by user 408. In some examples, as described above, access device406 may also transmit the dynamic virtual boundary data to controllersystem 308 (e.g., to web server 402), where the dynamic virtual boundarydata may be used to implement system 100 in any of the ways describedherein.

Using tools 508 (and other similar tools not explicitly describedherein), user 408 may define, update, modify, and otherwise manage auser-specified geographic boundary 510 in real time and with a greatamount of flexibility as may serve a particular implementation.User-specified geographic boundary 510 may be characterized by variousfeatures that may or may not be possible with other types of boundarysystems, as will now be described in more detail in relation to FIG. 6.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary geographical area 600 within whichuser-specified geographic boundary 510 (consisting of various differenttypes of user-specified geographic boundary segments 510-1 through510-4) is defined. For example, geographical area 600 may correspond toan area presented to user 408 on a map within user interface 500.Depicted from an overhead view as shown, geographical area 600 includesa house 602 (e.g., within which user 408 may live) having a front yard604 and a back yard 606. Front yard 604 is split into two sections by adriveway 608, which crosses a sidewalk 610 to connect to a street 612 infront of house 602. As further shown, house 602 includes a back deck614, and two trees 616 (i.e., a tree 616-1 in front yard 604, and a tree616-2 in back yard 606). In the corner of back yard 606, a play area 618(e.g., including sand and a swing set or other such play structure) isshown. Physical fences 620 are shown to separate the property associatedwith house 602 from a property 622-1 (e.g., associated with a houselocated to the left of house 602 (not explicitly shown)) and from aproperty 622-2 (e.g., associated with a house located behind house 602(also not explicitly shown)). However, it is noted that no physicalfence is present between the property associated with house 602 and aproperty 622-3 associated with a house 624 located to the right of house602.

Various segments of user-specified geographic boundary 510 areillustrated on and around the property associated with house 602. Forexample, a first type of user-specified geographic boundary segment isillustrated by a first style of dashed line labeled 510-1. Thesesegments will thus be referred to as segments 510-1. As was illustratedin FIG. 5, a “Permanent Tool” 508 may be used to define segments 510-1to be relatively permanent. As such, for example, segments 510-1 areshown to essentially outline the portions of front yard 604 and backyard 606 that are not already covered by a physical fence, as well as toblock off driveway 608 (e.g., to keep subject 204 from danger as carsdrive in and out of driveway 608 from street 612). While fence 620 mayoperate to physically prevent subject 204 from straying onto property622-1 and 622-2, segments 510-1 may be used to further ensure thatsubject 204 does not stray onto sidewalk 610, into street 612, ontodriveway 608, onto property 622-3, or near tree 616-2 (e.g., which maydrop fruit or seeds that, if eaten by subject 204, could make the animalsick), where no physical barriers otherwise exist.

While segments 510-1 are referred to herein as “permanent,” it will beunderstood that they are only permanent in the sense that these segmentsmay remain in place at all times and circumstances until directedotherwise by additional user input (unlike certain other types ofuser-specified geographic boundary segments, as will be describedbelow). However, it will be understood that user 408 may remove, redraw,or otherwise edit segments 510-1 at any time.

A second type of user-specified geographic boundary segment isillustrated by a second style of dashed line labeled 510-2. Thesesegments will thus be referred to as segments 510-2. As was illustratedin FIG. 5, a “Schedule Tool” 508 may be used to define segments 510-2 toonly be implemented at one or more certain times (e.g., in accordancewith a recurring schedule). For example, user 408 may wish to grantsubject 204 free reign of both front yard 604 and back yard 606 (inaccordance with segments 510-1) under normal circumstances, but may wishto keep subject 204 out of front yard 604 during hours right before theschool day begins and right after the school day ends, as children maybe walking along sidewalk 610 at those times and may tease subject 604,be barked at by subject 604, or the like. Accordingly, user interface500 may allow user 408 to not only draw segments 510-2 so as toconstrain subject 204 within back yard 606, but may also set up aschedule for when segments 510-2 are to be imposed. For example, byselecting the “Setup Options” link next to the “Schedule Tool” 508, user408 may be able to set up segments 510-2 to be operational on weekdaysfrom 7:30-8:30 AM, and from 3:00-4:00 PM in one example.

While user-specified geographic boundary 510 may be able to changeinstantaneously (e.g., when user 408 saves a newly drawn or modifiedboundary using user interface 500), it may be desirable in certaincircumstances for boundaries to change gradually so as to help gentlycoax subject 204 to stay in a shifting area rather than, for example,suddenly punishing subject 204 for being outside an area that changedunexpectedly. For instance, in the example given above, it may bedesirable for subject 204 to be constrained within back yard 606starting at 3:00 PM. Because subject might legitimately be locatedwithin front yard 604 at 2:59 PM if user-specified geographic boundary510 were to change instantaneously (thereby confusing and unfairlypunishing subject 204 when the boundary changes at 3:00), it may bedesirable to begin gradually mutating segments 510-1 within front yard604 a few minutes before 3:00 PM so that subject 204 may move out offront yard 604 and into back yard 606 by 3:00 PM when segments 510-2become effective.

In some examples, system 100 may be configured to continuously monitorwhether the refined geolocation of device 202 is within thepredetermined distance of user-specified geographic boundary 510 asuser-specified geographic boundary 510 changes in real time. Inparticular, user-specified geographic boundary 510 may change undermanual direction from user 408, or may change automatically inaccordance with settings prespecified by user 408. For instance, incertain examples, user-specified geographic boundary 510 may beconfigured to change in real time in accordance with automatic andgradual changes (e.g., changes that mutate an area from one shape toanother) prespecified by user 408 to apply to user-specified geographicboundary 510 at a prescheduled time set by user 408 (e.g., at 2:45 PM sothat the mutation will be complete by 3:00 PM in this example).

To illustrate another example of how automatic and gradual mutations ofa user-specified geographic boundary may be used to move, herd, and/ortrain animals, FIG. 7 shows an exemplary user-specified geographicboundary configured to automatically and gradually change atprescheduled times and in accordance with prespecified settings set by auser. In the example of FIG. 7, a house 702 having a yard 704 isdepicted to have a permanent user-specified geographic boundary 706around yard 704. At a time “T” (e.g., 8:00 PM), the user may desire thatpets within yard 704 begin making their way into a garage of house 702,where they will stay for the night. Accordingly, at Time=T (e.g., at8:00 PM), an alert (e.g., a vibration or the like) may be delivered toeach subject in yard 704 to indicate that it is time to come inside.Then, at intervals of length to (e.g., which may be 5 minutes in oneexample), increasingly small scheduled user-specified geographicboundaries 708 (e.g., user-specified geographic boundaries 708-1 through708-4) may become operational to gradually direct the subjects into ashrinking corridor and, ultimately, into the garage of house 702 wherethey belong. Specifically, at Time=T+t₀ (e.g., 8:05 PM) user-specifiedgeographic boundary 706 may shrink to become user-specified geographicboundary 708-1, at Time=T+2t₀ (e.g., 8:10 PM) user-specified geographicboundary 708-1 may shrink to become user-specified geographic boundary708-2, at Time=T+3t₀ (e.g., 8:15 PM) user-specified geographic boundary708-2 may shrink to become user-specified geographic boundary 708-3, andat Time=T+4t₀ (e.g., 8:20 PM) user-specified geographic boundary 708-3may shrink to become user-specified geographic boundary 708-4, at whichpoint the subjects may all be within the garage without the user havinghad to manually herd the subjects in.

While user-specified geographic boundaries 708 are illustrated asdiscrete boundaries that become operational at discrete times in theexample of FIG. 7, it will be understood that these boundaries may, incertain examples, represent mere snapshots of a shrinking user-specifiedgeographic boundary that mutates gradually from Time=T until Time=T+4t₀(e.g., between 8:00 and 8:20 PM). Over time, consistent herding of oneor more subjects in these ways may help train the subjects to be morereadily conformant to a desired schedule (e.g., to come into the garageimmediately when a first alert is provided, when the sun sets, etc.). Assuch, system 100 may be configured to implement a similarly effectiveherding effect using a shorter time interval to after subjects begin tobecome accustomed to a consistent schedule, and user interface 500 mayallow the user to manually change interval to. In some examples, system100 may be configured to automatically and gradually change (e.g.,reduce) interval to over time as subjects become accustomed to theschedule (e.g., as determined by tracking the subjects around Time=Teach day).

Returning to FIG. 6, a third type of user-specified geographic boundarysegment is illustrated by a dotted line in a third style that is labeled510-3. This segment will thus be referred to as segment 510-3. As wasillustrated in FIG. 5, a “Temporary Tool” 508 may be used to definesegment 510-3 to only be implemented temporarily (i.e., so as todisengage automatically after a set period of time). For example, user408 may normally allow subject 204 to go into play area 618, but maywish to keep subject 204 out of play area 618 when it is in use undercertain circumstances (e.g., when young grandchildren come to visit,when a child with a pet allergy is visiting, when the family is having apicnic within play area 618 and do not wish to be disturbed by subject204, etc.). Accordingly, user interface 500 may allow user 408 to notonly draw segment 510-3 so as to keep subject 204 out of play area 618,but may also set up a time for segment 510-3 to automatically expirewithout user 408 having to remember to remove segment 510 manually. Forexample, by selecting the “Setup Options” link next to the “TemporaryTool” 508, user 408 may be able to set up segment 510-3 to expire aftera certain period of time (e.g., three hours) or at a certain time of day(e.g., at 10:00 PM that evening).

A fourth type of user-specified geographic boundary segment isillustrated by dash-dotted lines in a fourth style labeled 510-4. Thesesegments will thus be referred to as segments 510-4. As was illustratedin FIG. 5, a “Height Tool” 508 may be used to define segments 510-4 toimpose height limitations (i.e., to impose different limitations atdifferent distances up from the ground). As described above,user-specified geographic boundaries such as user-specified geographicboundary 510 may, in some examples, be specified as 3D user-specifiedgeographic boundaries defining not only a geographical area but alsodefining a height that bounds at least a portion of the area. Forexample, user 408 may wish to allow subject 204 to enjoy shade from tree616-1 and/or from under back deck 614 (which may be a deck on a secondlevel of house 602), but may wish to disallow subject 204 from climbingup into tree 616-1 or from ascending the stairs to go up onto back deck614. Accordingly, user interface 500 may allow user 408 to specify thatsegments 510-4 are special segments that apply only to certain heightsoff the ground. For example, by selecting the “Setup Options” link nextto the “Height Tool” 508, user 408 may be able to set up segments 510-4to disallow subject 204 from certain heights in certain areas (e.g., toprevent subject 204 them from climbing high into the tree, more thanhalfway up the stairs to back deck 614, etc.).

In operation, once user-specified geographic boundary 510 has beendefined and implemented, system 100 may be configured to provide alertsconfigured to assist in constraining subject 204 within the area definedby user-specified geographic boundary 510 in any of the ways describedherein. For example, system 100 may provide an alert to a subject (e.g.,subject 204) carrying a real-time tracking device by indicating to thesubject that the subject has reached the user-specified geographicboundary. As another example, system 100 may provide an alert to a userof an access device (e.g., user 408 of access device 406) who hasauthority over the subject and may desire to know a status of thesubject as pertaining to the user-specified geographic boundary the userhas defined. To illustrate, FIG. 8 shows alerts that may be provided tosubject 204 by way of device 202, while FIG. 9 shows alerts that may beprovided to user 408 by way of access device 406.

As shown, FIG. 8 depicts real-time tracking device 202 at severallocations with respect to user-specified geographic boundary 510 asdevice 202 approaches and crosses user-specified geographic boundary510. Subject 204 may carry device 202 from within an area defined byuser-specified geographic boundary 510 to a location outside the areadefined by user-specified geographic boundary 510 in accordance with amovement 802 labeled in FIG. 8 with an arrow. For example, movement 802may occur over the course of a period of time (e.g., a few seconds) assubject 204 moves from area 804 (which is outside of a predetermineddistance from user-specified geographic boundary 510), to an area 806(which is within the buffer zone of the predetermined distance fromuser-specified geographic boundary 510), to an area 808 (which is alsowithin the buffer zone of the predetermined distance from user-specifiedgeographic boundary 510 but is outside of the area defined byuser-specified geographic boundary 510), and to an area 810 (whichoutside the area defined by user-specified geographic boundary 510 aswell as the buffer zone).

Different types of alerts 812 (e.g., alerts 812-1 through 812-3) may beprovided to subject 204 to assist in constraining subject 204 within thearea defined by user-specified geographic boundary 510. Specifically,alerts 812 may increase in severity based on where subject 204 islocated, which direction subject 204 is moving, how fast subject 204 ismoving, and so forth. Ultimately, the goal may be to gently but firmlyencourage subject 204 to stay within area 804 or to return to area 804when subject 204 has strayed from area 804. To this end, no alert may begiven as long as subject 204 remains well within the area defined byuser-specified geographic boundary 510 (i.e., within area 804), but, asshown, alert 812-1 may be imposed when device 202 is carried into area806 (i.e., within the predetermined distance of user-specifiedgeographic boundary 500). Alert 812-1 may be implemented as a mildindication to subject 204 that subject 204 is approaching user-specifiedgeographic boundary 510 and should proceed with caution or turn around.Alert 812-1 may be more informational than punitive, and may beimplemented, for example, as a vibration, a sound, a mild shock, or thelike.

As subject 204 continues along movement 802 into area 808, alert 812-2may be provided by way of device 202. Alert 812-2 may be more severe orpunitive than alert 812-1, because subject 204 has now crossed overuser-specified geographic boundary 510 and has left the area withinwhich system 100 is meant to constrain subject 204. For instance, alert812-2 may include a shock (e.g., a stronger shock than may have beenimplemented by alert 812-1), a chemical deterrent (e.g., a puff ofcitronella to the face of subject 204), an unpleasant sound, or anyother alert as may serve to encourage subject 204 to turn back and moveaway from user-specified geographic boundary 510.

Finally, if subject 204 continues along movement 802 into area 810,system 100 may direct device 202 to provide alert 812-3. Alert 812-3 maybe implemented similarly to alert 812-2, but may be even more severe orpunitive because subject 204 has now strayed well outside user-specifiedgeographic boundary 510 and needs to return immediately to the areawithin which system 100 is meant to constrain subject 204. While alerts812-1 and 812-2 may be single-instance alerts (e.g., a short ding, ashort shock) or may repeat intermittently (e.g., once per second) whiledevice 202 remains in areas 806 or 808, alert 812-3 may be continuous,unrelenting, and/or increasing in amplitude over time so as to make itunpleasant (e.g., increasingly unpleasant) for subject 204 to remainoutside of user-specified geographic boundary 510. In this way, subject204 may be highly incentivized to immediately return to area 804 inorder to reduce and eliminate alerts 812.

In some examples, directional alerts (e.g., vibration or shocks comingfrom different parts of device 202) may be used to indicate a directionin which subject 204 should go to reduce and eliminate alerts 812. Forexample, shock pads may be included around the perimeter of device 202and pads further outside the area defined by user-specified geographicboundary 510 may be configured to provide a noticeably greater shockthan pads closer to area 804. In this way, it may be intuitive even toan animal which way the animal needs to move to reduce and eliminate thealerts.

To illustrate an alert provided to a user, FIG. 9 shows an exemplaryalert provided to user 408 by way of access device 406. As shown, accessdevice 406 displays an alert 902 (e.g., a pop-up notification or anyother suitable type of notification or alert) indicating to user 406that “Your digital fence has detected that your pet is out of bounds.”Based on alert 902, user 406 may take note and appropriate action. Forexample, after taking note of alert 902, user 406 may normally assumethat subject 204 will be brought back into the area defined byuser-specified geographic boundary 510, and may select an “OK” option904 to dismiss alert 902. However, if for some reason subject 204continues to remain near the boundary or outside of the defined area,additional alerts similar to alert 902 may eventually cause user 406 totake additional action. For example, user 406 may physically go check onsubject 204 (if user 406 is nearby subject 204), or may use system 100to track subject 204, such as by selecting a “Go to Tracker” option 906.

In some examples, system 100 may be configured to display a real-timerepresentation of the location of subject 204 (e.g., on a map withinuser interface 500) as system 100 tracks subject 204 in real time.Additionally, in certain examples, system 100 may store a history ofwhere subject 204 has gone so that user 406 may look for patterns thatmay allow user 406 to improve user-specified geographic boundary 510.For example, the history may indicate that every day between 2:00 and3:00 PM when the mail comes, subject 204 goes to the front yard andcrosses user-specified geographic boundary 510 as subject 204 barks at apostal worker. As a result, user 406 may use this information to set upa scheduled user-specified geographic boundary segment to bring subject204 into the back yard or to otherwise keep subject 204 away from themailbox around that time.

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary method 1000 for constraining a subjectwithin an area defined by a user-specified geographic boundary. WhileFIG. 10 illustrates exemplary operations according to one embodiment,other embodiments may omit, add to, reorder, and/or modify any of theoperations shown in FIG. 10. One or more of the operations shown in FIG.10 may be performed by system 100, any components included therein,and/or any implementation thereof.

In operation 1002, a dynamic virtual boundary system may access apositioning signal from which a geolocation accurate within a firstmargin of error is derivable for a real-time tracking device carried bya subject. For example, the positioning signal may be generated by asatellite included within a satellite-based positioning system, and maybe received by the real-time tracking device. Operation 1002 may beperformed in any of the ways described herein.

In operation 1004, the dynamic virtual boundary system may access acorrection signal corresponding to the positioning signal generated bythe satellite and accessed in operation 1002. In some examples, thecorrection signal may be generated by a terrestrial positioningenhancement system and received by the real-time tracking device.Operation 1004 may be performed in any of the ways described herein.

In operation 1006, the dynamic virtual boundary system may accessdynamic virtual boundary data that defines a user-specified geographicboundary configured to change in real time. Operation 1006 may beperformed in any of the ways described herein.

In operation 1008, the dynamic virtual boundary system may continuouslydetermine a refined geolocation of the real-time tracking device. Forexample, the dynamic virtual boundary system may continuously determinethe refined geolocation based on the positioning signal accessed inoperation 1002 and the correction signal accessed in operation 1004. Therefined geolocation may be accurate within a second margin of error lessthan the first margin of error. Operation 1008 may be performed in anyof the ways described herein.

In operation 1010, the dynamic virtual boundary system may continuouslymonitor whether the refined geolocation of the real-time tracking deviceis within a predetermined distance of the user-specified geographicboundary accessed in operation 1006. For instance, the dynamic virtualboundary system may continuously monitor whether the refined geolocationof the real-time tracking device is within the predetermined distance asthe user-specified geographic boundary changes in real time. Operation1010 may be performed in any of the ways described herein.

In operation 1012, the dynamic virtual boundary system may provide analert configured to assist in constraining the subject within an areadefined by the user-specified geographic boundary. For example, thedynamic virtual boundary system may provide the alert based on adetermination during operation 1010 that the refined geolocation iswithin the predetermined distance of the user-specified geographicboundary. Operation 1012 may be performed in any of the ways describedherein.

In certain embodiments, one or more of the systems, components, and/orprocesses described herein may be implemented and/or performed by one ormore appropriately configured computing devices. To this end, one ormore of the systems and/or components described above may include or beimplemented by any computer hardware and/or computer-implementedinstructions (e.g., software) embodied on at least one non-transitorycomputer-readable medium configured to perform one or more of theprocesses described herein. In particular, system components may beimplemented on one physical computing device or may be implemented onmore than one physical computing device. Accordingly, system componentsmay include any number of computing devices, and may employ any of anumber of computer operating systems.

In certain embodiments, one or more of the processes described hereinmay be implemented at least in part as instructions embodied in anon-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by one or morecomputing devices. In general, a processor (e.g., a microprocessor)receives instructions, from a non-transitory computer-readable medium,(e.g., a memory, etc.), and executes those instructions, therebyperforming one or more processes, including one or more of the processesdescribed herein. Such instructions may be stored and/or transmittedusing any of a variety of known computer-readable media.

A computer-readable medium (also referred to as a processor-readablemedium) includes any non-transitory medium that participates inproviding data (e.g., instructions) that may be read by a computer(e.g., by a processor of a computer). Such a medium may take many forms,including, but not limited to, non-volatile media, and/or volatilemedia. Non-volatile media may include, for example, optical or magneticdisks and other persistent memory. Volatile media may include, forexample, dynamic random-access memory (“DRAM”), which typicallyconstitutes a main memory. Common forms of computer-readable mediainclude, for example, a disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any othermagnetic medium, a compact disc read-only memory (“CD-ROM”), a digitalvideo disc (“DVD”), any other optical medium, random access memory(“RAM”), programmable read-only memory (“PROM”), electrically erasableprogrammable read-only memory (“EPROM”), FLASH-EEPROM, any other memorychip or cartridge, or any other tangible medium from which a computercan read.

FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary computing device 1100 that may bespecifically configured to perform one or more of the processesdescribed herein. As shown in FIG. 11, computing device 1100 may includea communication interface 1102, a processor 1104, a storage device 1106,and an input/output (“I/O”) module 1108 communicatively connected via acommunication infrastructure 1110. While an exemplary computing device1100 is shown in FIG. 11, the components illustrated in FIG. 11 are notintended to be limiting. Additional or alternative components may beused in other embodiments. Components of computing device 1100 shown inFIG. 11 will now be described in additional detail.

Communication interface 1102 may be configured to communicate with oneor more computing devices. Examples of communication interface 1102include, without limitation, a wired network interface (such as anetwork interface card), a wireless network interface (such as awireless network interface card), a modem, an audio/video connection,and any other suitable interface.

Processor 1104 generally represents any type or form of processing unitcapable of processing data or interpreting, executing, and/or directingexecution of one or more of the instructions, processes, and/oroperations described herein. Processor 1104 may direct execution ofoperations in accordance with one or more applications 1112 or othercomputer-executable instructions such as may be stored in storage device1106 or another computer-readable medium.

Storage device 1106 may include one or more data storage media, devices,or configurations and may employ any type, form, and combination of datastorage media and/or device. For example, storage device 1106 mayinclude, but is not limited to, a hard drive, network drive, flashdrive, magnetic disc, optical disc, RAM, dynamic RAM, other non-volatileand/or volatile data storage units, or a combination or sub-combinationthereof. Electronic data, including data described herein, may betemporarily and/or permanently stored in storage device 1106. Forexample, data representative of one or more executable applications 1112configured to direct processor 1104 to perform any of the operationsdescribed herein may be stored within storage device 1106. In someexamples, data may be arranged in one or more databases residing withinstorage device 1106.

I/O module 1108 may include one or more I/O modules configured toreceive user input and provide user output. One or more I/O modules maybe used to receive input for a single virtual experience. I/O module1108 may include any hardware, firmware, software, or combinationthereof supportive of input and output capabilities. For example, I/Omodule 1108 may include hardware and/or software for capturing userinput, including, but not limited to, a keyboard or keypad, atouchscreen component (e.g., touchscreen display), a receiver (e.g., anRF or infrared receiver), motion sensors, and/or one or more inputbuttons.

I/O module 1108 may include one or more devices for presenting output toa user, including, but not limited to, a graphics engine, a display(e.g., a display screen), one or more output drivers (e.g., displaydrivers), one or more audio speakers, and one or more audio drivers. Incertain embodiments, I/O module 1108 is configured to provide graphicaldata to a display for presentation to a user. The graphical data may berepresentative of one or more graphical user interfaces and/or any othergraphical content as may serve a particular implementation.

In some examples, any of the facilities described herein may beimplemented by or within one or more components of computing device1100. For example, one or more applications 1112 residing within storagedevice 1106 may be configured to direct processor 1104 to perform one ormore processes or functions associated with facilities 102 through 106of system 100. Likewise, storage facility 108 of system 100 may beimplemented by or within storage device 1106.

To the extent the aforementioned embodiments collect, store, and/oremploy personal information provided by individuals, it should beunderstood that such information shall be used in accordance with allapplicable laws concerning protection of personal information.Additionally, the collection, storage, and use of such information maybe subject to consent of the individual to such activity, for example,through well known “opt-in” or “opt-out” processes as may be appropriatefor the situation and type of information. Storage and use of personalinformation may be in an appropriately secure manner reflective of thetype of information, for example, through various encryption andanonymization techniques for particularly sensitive information.

In the preceding description, various exemplary embodiments have beendescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings. It will, however,be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto,and additional embodiments may be implemented, without departing fromthe scope of the invention as set forth in the claims that follow. Forexample, certain features of one embodiment described herein may becombined with or substituted for features of another embodimentdescribed herein. The description and drawings are accordingly to beregarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: accessing, by a virtualboundary system, a positioning signal generated by a positioning system,wherein a geolocation for a real-time tracking device is derivable fromthe positioning signal within a first margin of error; accessing, by thevirtual boundary system, a correction signal generated by a positioningenhancement system and corresponding to the positioning signal generatedby the positioning system; determining, by the virtual boundary systembased on the positioning signal and the correction signal, a refinedgeolocation of the real-time tracking device relative to auser-specified geographic boundary, the refined geolocation accuratewithin a second margin of error less than the first margin of error; andproviding, by the virtual boundary system based on the refinedgeolocation, an alert configured to assist in constraining a subjectwithin the user-specified geographic boundary.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein: the user-specified geographic boundary is defined by a user ofthe virtual boundary system and is updated by the user in real time; andthe method further comprises: accessing, by the virtual boundary system,dynamic virtual boundary data that defines the user-specified geographicboundary, and continuously monitoring, by the virtual boundary system asthe user-specified geographic boundary is updated in real time, whetherthe refined geolocation of the real-time tracking device is within apredetermined distance of the user-specified geographic boundary.
 3. Themethod of claim 2, further comprising: providing, by the virtualboundary system to an access device used by the user, a user interfacefor presentation by the access device to the user; receiving, by thevirtual boundary system by way of the user interface, user input fromthe user; and dynamically generating, by the virtual boundary systembased on the user input and in real time during the receiving of theuser input, the dynamic virtual boundary data that defines theuser-specified geographic boundary.
 4. The method of claim 2, whereinthe user-specified geographic boundary is configured to change in realtime in accordance with automatic and gradual changes prespecified bythe user to apply to the user-specified geographic boundary at aprescheduled time set by the user.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein:the user-specified geographic boundary defines a geographic area towhich the subject is to be constrained; and the user-specifiedgeographic boundary is specified as a three-dimensional (“3D”)user-specified geographic boundary defining the geographic area anddefining a height that bounds at least a portion of the geographic area.6. The method of claim 1, wherein: the user-specified geographicboundary defines a geographic area to which the subject is to beconstrained; and the providing of the alert is performed when therefined geolocation is determined to be outside the geographic area orinside the geographic area within a threshold distance of theuser-specified geographic boundary.
 7. The method of claim 6, whereinthe alert is provided to the subject as the subject carries thereal-time tracking device to thereby assist in constraining the subjectwithin the geographic area by indicating to the subject that the subjectis too close to the user-specified geographic boundary.
 8. The method ofclaim 6, wherein the alert is provided to the user as the subjectcarries the real-time tracking device to thereby assist in constrainingthe subject within the geographic area by informing the user that thesubject is near the user-specified geographic boundary so as tofacilitate the user in taking action to constrain the subject.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, wherein: the positioning system is a satellite-basedpositioning system that includes a satellite that generates thepositioning signal to be received by the real-time tracking device; andthe positioning signal generated by the satellite is a globalpositioning system (“GPS”) signal.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein:the positioning enhancement system is a terrestrial positioningenhancement system that generates the correction signal to be receivedby the real-time tracking device; and the correction signalcorresponding to the positioning signal is a real-time kinematic (“RTK”)signal generated at an RTK base station associated with the terrestrialpositioning enhancement system.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein thereal-time tracking device is implemented by a pet collar configured tobe worn by an animal.
 12. A system comprising: a memory storinginstructions; and a processor communicatively coupled to the memory andconfigured to execute the instructions to: access a positioning signalgenerated by a positioning system, wherein a geolocation for a real-timetracking device is derivable from the positioning signal within a firstmargin of error; access a correction signal generated by a positioningenhancement system and corresponding to the positioning signal generatedby the positioning system; determine, based on the positioning signaland the correction signal, a refined geolocation of the real-timetracking device relative to a user-specified geographic boundary, therefined geolocation accurate within a second margin of error less thanthe first margin of error; and provide, based on the refinedgeolocation, an alert configured to assist in constraining a subjectwithin the user-specified geographic boundary.
 13. The system of claim12, wherein: the user-specified geographic boundary is defined by a userof the virtual boundary system and is updated by the user in real time;and the processor is further configured to execute the instructions to:access dynamic virtual boundary data that defines the user-specifiedgeographic boundary, and continuously monitor, as the user-specifiedgeographic boundary is updated in real time, whether the refinedgeolocation of the real-time tracking device is within a predetermineddistance of the user-specified geographic boundary.
 14. The system ofclaim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to execute theinstructions to: provide, to an access device used by the user, a userinterface for presentation by the access device to the user; receiveuser input from the user by way of the user interface; and dynamicallygenerate, based on the user input and in real time during the receivingof the user input, the dynamic virtual boundary data that defines theuser-specified geographic boundary.
 15. The system of claim 13, whereinthe user-specified geographic boundary is configured to change in realtime in accordance with automatic and gradual changes prespecified bythe user to apply to the user-specified geographic boundary at aprescheduled time set by the user.
 16. The system of claim 12, wherein:the user-specified geographic boundary defines a geographic area towhich the subject is to be constrained; and the providing of the alertis performed when the refined geolocation is determined to be outsidethe geographic area or inside the geographic area within a thresholddistance of the user-specified geographic boundary.
 17. The system ofclaim 16, wherein the alert is provided, as the subject carries thereal-time tracking device, to at least one of: the subject to therebyassist in constraining the subject within the geographic area byindicating to the subject that the subject is too close to theuser-specified geographic boundary; or the user to thereby assist inconstraining the subject within the geographic area by informing theuser that the subject is near the user-specified geographic boundary soas to facilitate the user in taking action to constrain the subject. 18.The system of claim 12, wherein: the positioning system is asatellite-based positioning system that includes a satellite thatgenerates the positioning signal to be received by the real-timetracking device; the positioning signal generated by the satellite is aglobal positioning system (“GPS”) signal; the positioning enhancementsystem is a terrestrial positioning enhancement system that generatesthe correction signal to be received by the real-time tracking device;and the correction signal corresponding to the positioning signal is areal-time kinematic (“RTK”) signal generated at an RTK base stationassociated with the terrestrial positioning enhancement system.
 19. Thesystem of claim 12, wherein the real-time tracking device is implementedby a pet collar configured to be worn by an animal.
 20. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed,direct a processor of a computing device to: access a positioning signalgenerated by a positioning system, wherein a geolocation for a real-timetracking device is derivable from the positioning signal within a firstmargin of error; access a correction signal generated by a positioningenhancement system and corresponding to the positioning signal generatedby the positioning system; determine, based on the positioning signaland the correction signal, a refined geolocation of the real-timetracking device relative to a user-specified geographic boundary, therefined geolocation accurate within a second margin of error less thanthe first margin of error; and provide, based on the refinedgeolocation, an alert configured to assist in constraining a subjectwithin the user-specified geographic boundary.